Spandau Ballet

Spandau Ballet were a popular English band in the 1980s. Initially inspired by a mixture of funk and synthpop, the New Romantic group eventually mellowed into a mainstream pop act. As with their rivals Duran Duran they 'broke America', albeit briefly.

Guitarist and songwriter Gary Kemp and his brother, bassist Martin Kemp formed the band in 1979, with drummer John Keeble, lead vocalist Tony Hadley and Steve Norman, who initially played guitar but later switched to saxophone when the band changed musical direction.

The band were initially called 'The Makers', but changed their name after a visit to Spandau (a section of Berlin), the inspiration being from graffiti one of their roadies, BBC London 94.9 D.J. Robert Elms, saw there. The band began performing and generating positive buzz around London as the house band at the Blitz nightclub, which became regarded as the birthplace of a new 1980s music and fashion phenomenon called New Romanticism.

The band eventually signed to Chrysalis Records and released "To Cut a Long Story Short", a British top 5 hit in 1980. This was followed by "The Freeze" and "Musclebound" and t...